The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for retarding fire, particularly to a fire-retardant barrier for retarding fire from burning a building.
Wildfires are known periodically to threaten residential areas and damage or destroy homes. Typically, home owners have significant warning as to the likelihood of a fire passing through their residential area so that preventative steps can be taken to avoid damage.
Water has been known for millennia for its ability to prevent or extinguish fires due to its high heat capacity and high heat of vaporization. One method that has been used for retarding fire from burning a building is spraying water on the roof and exterior walls of a building. However, this method is not particularly effective because water tends to flow off the building, limiting the amount of water that can be placed on and adhered to the building's surfaces. Water also tends to evaporate quickly, especially in the heat of a fire. Covering a building with a tarp able to absorb water is also known, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,521,362.
It has been reported that foams or superabsorbent polymer gels formed by adding water to superabsorbent polymer powders have been used as a fire-retardant. However, forming and applying the foam or gel requires special equipment. Only limited amounts of gel or foam can be placed on a surface before the gel or foam begins to slough off. The gels and foams also can require significant cleanup after a fire has passed. Also, the concentrated polymers used to form gels typically are flammable, so that storage of the concentrated polymers can be hazardous.
Superabsorbent polymers have also been used for protection in extreme temperature situations, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,912 for a “Protective Multi-Layered Liquid Retaining Composite.”
What is needed is a method that provides effective retardation of a fire and an apparatus for retarding fire that is easy and safe to store, easy to apply to an object, and that is easy to clean up after a fire has passed.